My favorite rosemary pull-apart rolls

I tend not to buy fresh herbs very much because they always go bad before I'm done using them. I really need to just grow my own already. A few weeks back I was at the grocery store and rosemary was on sale. I bought a small package and imagined all the culinary projects I could do with it. Big shocker (not), but all I ended up doing with the rosemary was make rolls and then the rest went bad. 

I searched the internet for a tasty recipe for rosemary rolls and came across one on allrecipes.com. Since then, I've made them two more times and I'm definitely loving the recipe. It also comes with a video which really helps when you're second guessing yourself like I tend to do.

That's the hand of my 4 year old--before you start wondering why my hands are so tiny.

You know you're hand held mixer has gotten lot's of love when half of the "Hamilton Beach" logo is missing. By the way. It only took 1 year to figure out what that metal spiral thingie is. It's a dough hook and it calls for one in this recipe. 

Coming together quite nicely. Now it's time to put it aside and let it rise.

It has risen! Speaking of which, am I the only one that is always afraid that their dough isn't going to rise after letting it sit for 1+ hours and all the work that went into it?

Let's slather these bad boy's up with some butta...

Ta-da! Not too shabby for my first time. The second time I made them, they didn't come out quite as nice because I was in a hurry. I highly recommend watching the video at least at the very end to see the technique.

Here's what you need:

1 package dry yeast

1/4 cup of warm water

1 cup of milk

4 tablespoons of butter

2 cups of all purpose flour

1 tablespoon of honey

1 teaspoon of salt

2 teaspoons fresh rosemary leaves

1/2 cup of all purpose flour (or as needed)

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 egg

1 teaspoon of milk

Course sea salt to taste

Directions

Dissolve yeast in warm water in a small bowl. Set aside in a warm place until the yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam, 10 to 15 minutes.

1. Combine 1 cup milk and butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook until butter is melted, 3 to 4 minutes; remove pan from heat.
2. Combine 2 cups flour, yeast mixture, honey, 1 teaspoon salt, rosemary, and milk mixture in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook; mix on low until no dry spots remain. Stir in 1/2 cup flour, 2 tablespoons at a time, mixing well after each addition. Continue adding flour until a firm dough forms that pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Knead on medium until elastic and soft but still tacky, about 6 minutes. Transfer dough to a clean bowl and coat with olive oil. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a clean dish towel and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
4. Transfer dough to a work surface and shape into a rectangle about 1-inch thick. Cut into 36 equally-sized pieces. Form each piece into a ball, pinching the seams on the underside, creating a smooth, round top.
5. Lightly beat egg with 1 teaspoon milk in a small bowl.
6. Transfer dough balls to the prepared baking sheet in 3 rows of 12, placing them close together but not touching. Brush tops lightly with the egg mixture and sprinkle with sea salt. Cover and let rise in a warm place until nearly doubled, 20 to 30 minutes.
7. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes.